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Endocrine disruption: molecular interactions of chlorpyrifos and its degradation products with estrogen receptor

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Abstract

Chlorpyrifos is an extensively used organophosphate pesticide showing broad-spectrum effectiveness on various target pests. Long-term sublethal exposure to this pesticide is reported to produce detrimental effects on sex hormone metabolism and nervous system functioning. It is a suspected endocrine-disrupting chemical and causes abnormal developmental patterns, gonadal atrophy, and neurodevelopmental problems. The degradation products formed during environmental degradation of chlorpyrifos are also capable of binding with steroid hormone receptors such as estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α) and can disrupt estrogen signaling in humans. In the present study, chlorpyrifos and four of its degradation products viz. CPYO, DEC, TCP, and TMP were chosen to study their ability to bind with estrogen receptors. The molecular docking and dynamics simulation carried out to understand the molecular interaction of chlorpyrifos and its environmental degradation products with human ER reveal the risk of potential disruption in estrogen signaling in humans by these compounds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Chemistry, Cotton University, for providing all the necessary supports and facilities to carry out the present research work.

Funding

This project was funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, under sanction order no. BCIL/NER-BPMC/2017/164 dated 14/3/2017. Therefore, the authors would like to thank them for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, 781001, India

    Jnyandeep Hazarika, Mausumi Ganguly, Gargi Borgohain, Indrani Baruah, Shruti Sarma & Pranjal Bhuyan

  2. Department of Zoology, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, 781001, India

    Rita Mahanta

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  1. Jnyandeep Hazarika
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Hazarika, J., Ganguly, M., Borgohain, G. et al. Endocrine disruption: molecular interactions of chlorpyrifos and its degradation products with estrogen receptor. Struct Chem 31, 2011–2021 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-020-01562-4

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